Management server, method of managing workform and execution start condition and recording medium

Abstract

A management server is provided. The management server includes a user interface to receive an input of a plug-in corresponding to a job of an image forming apparatus to generate a workform, which defines a job performing order of the image forming apparatus, and to receive an input of an execution start condition of the plug-in, a workform generator to generate a workform based on the input plug-in and the execution start condition, and a communication interface to transmit the generated workform to the image forming apparatus.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A management server communicatively connectable to an image forming apparatus, the management server comprising:
 a user interface to:
 receive a plurality of selections of plug-ins, from among a list of plug-ins, each plug-in from among the plug-ins corresponding to a job from among a plurality of jobs performable by the image forming apparatus, and 
 receive at least one selection of at least one execution condition to control execution of a plug-in corresponding to a job; 
 
 a controller to generate a workform including the plug-ins and an order of the plurality of jobs to be performed based on the at least one execution condition by the image forming apparatus; and 
 a communication interface to:
 transmit the generated workform to the image forming apparatus, and 
 receive execution information regarding executing the transmitted workform by the image forming apparatus, from the image forming apparatus receiving the transmitted workform; 
 
 wherein the controller is to, in response to the communication interface receiving the execution information, perform the plurality of jobs included in the generated workform and corresponding to the plug-ins in the order of the plurality of jobs and based on the at least one execution condition, in response to a determination that the received execution information matches with the at least one execution condition to control execution of the plug-in. 
 
     
     
       2. The management server as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the controller is to perform the plurality of jobs included in the generated workform and corresponding to the plug-ins in the order of the plurality of jobs further based on the execution information regarding executing the transmitted workform. 
     
     
       3. The management server as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the execution information comprises at least one of:
 information of the image forming apparatus, 
 information of the generated workform performed by the image forming apparatus, or 
 resulting information of a job performed by the image forming apparatus. 
 
     
     
       4. The management server as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the plug-ins is at least one of an input plug-in, a conversion plug-in, or a transmission plug-in. 
     
     
       5. The management server as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein:
 the input plug-in comprises at least one of a scan plug-in, a fax plug-in, an email plug-in, a folder plug-in, or a file transfer protocol (FTP) plug-in, 
 the conversion plug-in comprises an optical character recognition (OCR) plug-in, and 
 the transmission plug-in comprises at least one of an email plug-in, an FTP plug-in, a PCFAX plug-in, a folder plug-in, a printer plug-in, or a database plug-in. 
 
     
     
       6. The management server as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a storage unit to store the generated workform. 
 
     
     
       7. The management server as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the user interface displays a user interface window comprising a first region to display the list of plug-ins and a second region to display the plug-ins selected from among the list of plug-ins, and 
 the second region hierarchically displays the plug-ins according to the order of the plurality of jobs to be performed. 
 
     
     
       8. A method of managing a workform of a management server which is communicatively connectable to an image forming apparatus, the method comprising:
 displaying a user interface window to:
 receive a plurality of selections of plug-ins, from among a list of plug-ins, each plug-in from among the plug-ins corresponding to a job from among a plurality of jobs performable by the image forming apparatus, and 
 receive at least one selection of at least one execution condition to control execution of a plug-in corresponding to a job; 
 
 generating a workform including the plug-ins and an order of the plurality of jobs to be performed based on the at least one execution condition by the image forming apparatus; 
 transmitting the generated workform to the image forming apparatus; 
 receiving execution information regarding executing the transmitted workform by the image forming apparatus, from the image forming apparatus receiving the transmitted workform; and 
 in response to the receiving the execution information, performing the plurality of jobs included in the generated workform and corresponding to the plug-ins in the order of the plurality of jobs and based on the at least one execution condition to control execution of the plug-in. 
 
     
     
       9. The method as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the execution information comprises at least one of:
 information of the image forming apparatus, 
 information of the generated workform performed by the image forming apparatus, or 
 resulting information of the order of jobs performed by the image forming apparatus. 
 
     
     
       10. The method as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the plug-ins is at least one of an input plug-in, a conversion plug-in, and a transmission plug-in. 
     
     
       11. The method as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein:
 the plug-ins comprises at least one of a scan plug-in, a fax plug-in, an email plug-in, a folder plug-in, or an FTP plug-in, 
 the conversion plug-in comprises an OCR plug-in, and 
 the transmission plug-in comprises at least one of an email plug-in, an FTP plug-in, a PCFAX plug-in, a folder plug-in, a printer plug-in, or a database plug-in. 
 
     
     
       12. The method as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein:
 the displaying the user interface window comprises:
 displaying a first region including the list of plug-ins; 
 displaying a second region including the plug-ins selected from among the list of plug-ins; and 
 displaying a third region to receive the at least one selection of the at least one execution condition to control the plug-in corresponding to the job among the plug-ins respectively corresponding to the plurality of jobs; and 
 
 the displaying the second region comprises:
 hierarchically displaying the plug-ins according to an order of the selections of the plug-ins or the order of the plurality of jobs. 
 
 
     
     
       13. A non-transitory recording medium in which a program code to perform a method of managing a workform of a management server communicatively connectable to an image forming apparatus is stored, the method of managing the workform comprising:
 displaying a user interface window to:
 receive a plurality of selections of plug-ins, from among a list of plug-ins, each plug-in from among the plug-ins corresponding to a job from among a plurality of jobs performable by the image forming apparatus, and 
 receive at least one selection of at least one execution condition to control execution of a plug-in corresponding to a job; 
 
 generating a workform including the plug-ins and an order of the plurality of jobs to be performed based on the at least one execution condition by the image forming apparatus; 
 transmitting the generated workform to the image forming apparatus; 
 receiving execution information regarding executing the transmitted workform by the image forming apparatus, from the image forming apparatus receiving the transmitted workform; and 
 in response to the receiving the execution information, performing the plurality of jobs included in the generated workform and corresponding to the plug-ins in the order of the plurality of jobs and based on the at least one execution condition to control execution of the plug-in. 
 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory recording medium of  claim 13 , wherein displaying the user interface window comprises:
 displaying a first region including the list of plug-ins; 
 displaying a second region including the plurality of plug-ins selected from among the list of plug-ins; and 
 displaying a third region to receive the at least one selection of the at least one execution condition to control the plug-in corresponding to the job among the plurality of plug-ins respectively corresponding to the plurality of jobs. 
 
     
     
       15. The management server as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein
 the execution information comprises at least one selected from: 
 information of the image forming apparatus, 
 information of the generated workform performed by the image forming apparatus, and 
 resulting information of the order of jobs performed by the image forming apparatus.